Here's a little thought experiment that will blow your punk-infected brain: Let's say you decide to go do some karaoke. Totally lame, right, because you get nauseous at the thought of celebrity or idol worship, so why pretend to be a rock star? You're the edgiest punk fan of them all. You have more metal embedded in your face than the victim of a pipe bomb explosion. Your eyes are permanently rolled in the up position to anticipate any future disgust you might have for something that so many people love and adore.

Now imagine that Greg Hetson from Bad Religion walks into the concert hall where you're waiting to see him play and asks you if you'd like to join him on stage as their new lead singer. There wouldn't be enough untapped angst in the world to stop you from squealing so loud that the International Space Station could pick up the signal.

Chris Roze is somewhat of a newcomer to the Dallas DJ scene, but over the past few years he has made his mark on area clubs. Through his role as a member of the Trillwave crew and their associated parties, Roze has helped bring a string of touring bass specialists to It'll Do Club. This week, in fact, they feature Pittsburgh-based Kastle for a rare Dallas appearance.

In this week's Mixtape, Roze leans heavily on four-on-the-floor house-related genres. For the Q&A, he also reveals a little bit about his brief but fruitful journey as a resident DJ.

Baboon lead a stacked local lineup for a can't-miss show at Three Links on Saturday

Now that it's approaching its second birthday, we're pretty well accustomed to seeing Three Links punch above its weight with the shows it books. It's what they do. But on Saturday it will host a mountain of local show spearheaded by the legendary Dallas band Baboon. Joining them will be no less than Deathray Davies, Corn Mo and Nervous Curtains.

Why do that bands matter so much? For starters, this bill represents sections of the local music scene going back a quarter century. With the exception of Deathray Davies, these bands all have deep roots in the seminal '90s Denton music scene, but have since evolved and travelled far beyond the college town borders. Their influence can be felt in all corners of the Dallas and North Texas music scenes.

John Bullard will be the beneficiary of this weekend's Have a Heart show at Trees

John Bullard has been in love with music ever since he could remember. As a child, he grew up listening to such staples as Cat Stevens and James Taylor, music his father would play for him, nurturing his fledgling music appreciation. "I can't play an instrument or anything, but music has always been my place of peace, really," says Bullard. "I really think people underestimate the power of music and [its ability] to bring people together and make a difference."

Today Bullard is an avid music supporter and frequent concert attendee. And this Saturday at Trees, the local music community, along with some pretty impressive national acts, will offer an opportunity to reciprocate their love and support for Bullard, through the Have a Heart benefit show.

While the Dallas location is skirting direct scrutiny this time -- the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) is investigating the Austin location over an alleged assault by an employee on a patron, who ended up with a severe brain injury -- it's still a glaring reminder to steer clear of that place, Uptown or otherwise.

Improvisation is a bold tool of the trade that some live performers would just as soon leave to jazz musicians or comedy troupes. Abandoning rehearsal and preparation for spontaneity could expose one's true creativity, or lack thereof. But Kenny Withrow, guitarist of North Texas' prominent Grateful Dead tribute act, Forgotten Space -- performing this Friday at the Granada Theater -- goes one step further and boldly explores a rare type of improvisation that exists between the two conventional worlds of covering original material and artistic free-form interpretation.

"It's interesting you know, it's interesting playing that music," says Withrow. "It's not like, I mean, it certainly is somebody else's material, but it's not exactly a cover band. It's its own kind of music."

On this Sunday afternoon, Alex Bhore is just packing and doing laundry in preparation for This Will Destroy You's upcoming East Coast tour. The band just returned from a European tour, where they played a show almost every single night for five weeks straight. Even though they've had a few weeks off before this show, that doesn't exactly mean there's downtime for Bhore.

When he's not working with This Will Destroy You, Bhore works on production for other bands in Texas. Over the phone, he fondly recalls working with Future Death, who's also opening for This Will Destroy You at The Kessler Theater for their show tonight, Tuesday, October 21. He also mentions working with Danny Diamonds, Blackstone Rangers and Nervous Curtains, plus a couple more that escape his memory at the moment.

"I always say, with any job you're in there's that one question that you have to answer," explains Chris McDonald, Marketing Manager for the Granada Theater, as he chips crumbs off of an oversized chocolate chip cookie at the front table of Society Bakery on Greenville Avenue.

"Like their main question is," he says, motioning to the gleaming pastry case at the back, "'Alright, so how are we gonna sell cookies today? How are we gonna sell cakes?' or whatever. And ours is, 'How are we gonna sell tickets to Panda Bear?'"

The week ahead will have its mundane moments. That's just a part of life. However, as per usual, we here at DC9 have more than a few ways to spice it up for you with some live music suggestions. There's the biting satire of Lily Allen, Justin Nozuka's soulful folk, and some free tunes at Sammons Park supplied by the Boxcar Bandits. Without much further adieu, your picks:

Dallas is going through a bit of a record store renaissance. Over the past year, the vinyl comeback that has been root throughout the music industry has made its presence felt locally, as well. Of the stores opening, including the recently opened Off the Record and the soon-to-be-christened Spinster Records, the most ambitious looks to be Josey Records. Josey will carry CDs, DVDs and cassettes, but the main attraction is the mammoth inventory of new and old vinyl from as many genres as you can think of. In short, it will be a crate digger's dream store ran by a group of veteran crate diggers.